The coming-of-age story Born Naked will make its Cape debut at the Baxter Theatre this April.
Inspired by true events, the play tells the story of two young drag queens and their journeys of becoming. It centres around the character Blaq Widow and her relationship with her drag mother, Queen Bling. Travelling in time, it follows Blaq Widow on her journey on trains, to drag pageants, inside back rooms and dressing rooms.
The theatrical work was devised by the director Kirsten Harris, and cast, Kopo Jake Nathane and Lethabo Bereng, with script assistance by award-winning writers Ameera Patel (Scandal, Whistle Stop) and Paul Rowlston (Isibaya, Jacob’s Cross).
A myriad of real South African queer stories are woven into the play, with specific reference to the life of Thapelo Makhutle, who was murdered in a hate crime in Kuruman in the Northern Cape in 2012.
Cape Town-born Kirsten Harris studied at Rhodes University. She is an award-winning theatre-maker, director and producer.
Harris explains Born Naked pays homage to Thapelo and to the many other LGBTQI+ people and the lives they lived.
“I wanted to explore these stories with the cast to interrogate the way in which queer stories are told by the media. I want us to shift our focus to celebrating the memory of their lives rather than the way in which they died.
“Most importantly, I want us as South Africans to have critical conversations and dialogue about hate crimes and the society that we have created. I want us to talk about the urgent need for the National Assembly to expedite the passing of the Prevention and Combating of Hate Crimes and Hate Speech Bill.”
In 2020, Born Naked made history when it was listed as the first South African Queer play to appear in the IEB curricula as a setwork for matric students.
The play has performed to critical success and full houses at the National Arts Festival, Makhanda, the Market Theatre, the Market Theatre Laboratory and at numerous schools around several provinces in the country. It has been commissioned and performed several times, by the Centre for Human Rights at the University of Pretoria, for delegates and human rights defenders from around the world.
Nathane is a Joburg-based, Rhodes University alumnus and an interdisciplinary artist. “We are interested in weaving real South African stories into an imagined theatrical tapestry using performative elements of drag culture, clowning and physical theatre whilst shifting between fantasy and reality,” says Nathane.
Bereng is a celebrated artivist, performer and Market Theatre Laboratory graduate.
“As an ensemble, we are passionate about the art of ritual and spirit present in performance. This play is a celebration of queer friendship and chosen family, an ode to our mothers and a tribute to queer communities,” says Bereng.
Born Naked
will run at the Baxter Golden Arrow Studio stage for a short season from today (April 19) to Saturday 30 April.
